Favourite Christmas Reads For Young Children

We’re always on the lookout for new festive friends with whom to share ideas and inspiration.  And we absolutely love discovering new Christmas reads too.  

So when fellow Christmas enthusiast Lauren suggested she share some of her favourite festive books for little ones, we were absolutely thrilled!  Whilst a couple of Lauren (and her nephew’s!) choices were familiar, we were excited to learn about two new stories as well (well new to us at least!).

Read on to discover more about Lauren’s recommended reads for children at Christmas.  We have to say both she and her nephew have great taste!  

Christmas is one of my absolute favourite times of year as a bookworm. Even when I’ve got a ridiculous reading pile, the beautiful covers are calling me from the shop shelves and I can’t help adding a few to my Christmas list. But it’s not just about the Christmas novel now, as a aunty I always keep a lookout for books that my nephew might enjoy reading, or being read to.

He is a slightly reluctant reader, favouring computer games over books, but he reads well, and it’s been interesting to see what books he has responded to as he has grown into a primary aged boy.

I’m really excited to discover ‘Jolly Festive’ and be asked by them to share some of my favourite reads that I think the whole family will enjoy in some way.

One thing all these books have in common is an element of fun. They are written with silly rhymes, words to instantly bring the stories alive, and colourful illustrations that we hoped would get my nephew talking and imagining. Although I didn’t buy all of these books personally, we’ve tried and tested all of them on my nephew when he was younger, and he got something from them all.

Dinosaur Christmas

by Jerry Pallotta & Howard McWilliam

This was our festive Christmas book of choice and we refuse to part with it. Even though my nephew is 9 years old he still gets it out occasionally, the novelty still there.

This is a story about Christmas before reindeers existed and pulled Santa’s sleigh. The authors imagined a time where Santa worked with different types of dinosaur, and the adventures he had trying out each species pulling his sleigh.

There’s some dinosaur species we’d never even heard of, and many laughs trying to work out how to pronounce them, then doing it wrong on purpose to make Joey laugh. A really nice read, and the illustrations are very cleverly done to reflect the character of each dinosaur. The grumpy Styracosaurus was one of my favourites.

Find out more HERE.

Spread The Word!

Like what you’ve seen? Be sure to share with your friends.

Let’s sprinkle Christmas cheer far and wide!

Mr Men – All Aboard For Christmas

by Roger Hargreaves

Mr Men have been another favourite in our house for the fun factor, and range of different colourful characters. I really think there’s something for everyone, and the special edition stories, like these Christmas ones are well worth the money. I was aiming to buy all of the Christmas stories (there are more than 10) at some point, but we only managed two in the end!

There’s lots of bright attention grabbing pictures in this book, and not too much text if your small people are reading aloud. I think the length is perfect for wriggly children with low attention spans as well.

This story follows Mr Christmas as he sets off on a journey to spend Christmas Day with Little Miss Late. In classic Mr Men style his journey was definitely an adventure, no spoilers for the ending though, you’ll have to read to find out!

Find out more HERE.

The Jolly Christmas Postman

by Janet & Allan Ahlberg

I absolutely love the idea that a book can be read and enjoyed, kept, and then enjoyed again by another generation, and this is what happened with The Jolly Christmas Postman. For me this is a must-have Christmas picture book.

I can’t say enough good things about the innovation and interaction in this book, and I’ve yet to see anything that will beat it. This is a great one for families to snuggle up and read as you discover the story of the postman delivering Christmas mail.

Each stop on his round comes with some magical winter illustrations, and there’s a twist. You get to open the mail. I don’t want to give too much away if you haven’t seen this book, but Joey loved the little bits inside all the envelopes, especially the mini board game.

It’s so beautifully done, and just gives you all the traditional Christmas vibes. Do check it out if you can.

Find out more HERE.

The Polar Express

by Chris Van Allsburg

I honestly had no idea this was a book until I won this beautiful little hardback version in a competition!

The film is a classic I mostly enjoy watching, but it can get a little noisy/crazy at times with some of the cinematic additions to the plot and animation.

This book is a more traditional alternative, with illustrations that just remind me of curling up on Christmas Eve with stories like the Night Before Christmas. It’s some old school Christmas magic for all those who ‘believe’.

Find out more HERE.

On The Wish List This Year…